Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview


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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • Mere Christians: Anne Beiler (Founder of Auntie Anne’s). On this episode of the Mere Christians podcast, Jordan Raynor visits with Anne Beiler, founder of Auntie Anne’s about how Christ redeemed Anne after horrific trauma and abuse, how her trauma gave her purpose and ambition for Auntie Anne’s, and how to stop overcomplicating the presence of God.
  • Seven Principles about Spiritual Gifts for Our Work. Art Lindsley writes “The work of the Holy Spirit in the world has several implications for Christians and their work. Whether working in creation or regeneration, the Spirit constantly empowers us to carry out the callings God places on our lives.”
  • How Can I Evangelize My Employees? Miranda Carls responds to the following question “How do I share the gospel with my employees without pressuring them because I’m the boss?
  • When Work Becomes an Idol. When does work become an idol? How do you know when something has crossed the line from a good thing into the territory of a “God thing?” In this episode of The Faith & Work Podcast, enjoy an interview with Lauren Gill, writer, actress, and Director of the Global Faith & Work Initiative at Redeemer City to City, on these questions concerning matters of the heart.

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Leadership Attributes: Servanthood


In our series on leadership attributes, we now look at servanthood, or more commonly known as servant leadership. Entire books have been written about servant leadership. Here are five books that I have read and recommend, and more are being written all the time. For example, in the book Lead Like Jesus Revisited, Ken Blanchard, Phil Hodges and Phyllis Hendry tell us that for followers of Jesus, servant leadership is not an option, but a mandate. They tell us that leading like Jesus in an organization creates a new culture that affects all relationships and every result. It requires leaders to be shepherds and servants who value each person as an integral part of the organization. Continue reading


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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • What If I’m Not Working as Much as I Should Be? Miranda Carls responds to the question “I technically work from home, but I’m not putting in nearly as many hours as I should be. I sometimes keep my computer on while I’m not working. How can I be honest about when I am and am not working? And how can I do better going forward?”
  • What Does It Mean to Represent Jesus in My Job? If we are representing Jesus in our work, it means there is value to our work because we are showing the world his character and care. Watch this short video from Bryan Chapell.
  • I Work in Healthcare. Can I Call Patients ‘Pregnant People’? Shane Morris responds to the question “At my job, I deal with maternal and child health, and one of the trends is calling pregnant women “pregnant people.” Thus far, I’ve tried to use the “pregnant women” terminology as much as I’m able and avoided using “pregnant people.” However, there’s increasing pressure to change the terminology. If I do, is this a violation of what I stand for as a Christian? I’ve been trying to search for some biblical passages to help guide my thinking on this matter.”

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Serving God in Retirement

I’ve recently spent time with a friend and former team member who will be retiring in a few weeks. I congratulated him, and told him that he may have a variety of feelings as he approaches his retirement date and immediately afterward. For so many years (for me it was nearly 38), I knew where I was going to work each day, and what I would be doing. Then, all of a sudden, that phase of your life is over. I remember feeling almost like I was doing something wrong, like I should be somewhere, instead of home.

My wife Tammy and I agreed that I would not just jump into activities after retiring, but take some time to decompress after my retirement date. Some refer to this as taking a sabbatical. Ideally, we were hoping to find ministry work that we could do together.

After serving God in your primary vocation, what does serving God in retirement look like for you? What is your purpose in this new chapter of your life? That is a question that several members of our church small group have been asking recently. Continue reading


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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday


Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • Does my Earthly Work have Eternal Value? (Part 1). Russ Gehrlein writes “This topic is worth considering, especially if you think that what you do all day is not worth much. Perhaps there is more lasting value to your work than you think.
  • Working for the Weekend? Part 1. Robert Covolo writes “No, we don’t work for the weekend. Nor do we make our work a weekend. Rather, we embrace both work and rest as those made in the image of the God who does both.”
  • Reassessing Our Relationship with Work and Rest. Michaela O’Donnell writes “We will worship God, the one who both works and rests, and gives us the good gift of a rhythm that includes both. In this, our sense of meaning-making returns to the one who made us and who invites us to align with the kingdom in all that we do.”
  • The Emotional Journey of the Entrepreneur. Jeff Haanen writes “We need to acknowledge that entrepreneurs don’t just change the world; they themselves are being changed by the world around them. This move toward self-awareness is the first step toward living healthier emotional and spiritual lives as entrepreneurs.”

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Is Leadership Your Vocational Calling?

I was thinking recently about how I started my leadership journey, and on the surface, it just doesn’t make any sense. After all, I was an introvert, very shy and lacking confidence, as a comment from a junior high school teacher on a report card had pointed out years earlier. At the time, I was in college and working as a part-time minimum wage cleaner, cleaning the corporate headquarters building for the organization I would eventually spend my nearly 38-year career with. I didn’t have dreams of going into leadership. In fact, I don’t recall having any clear thoughts on what I wanted to do vocationally after I got out of college. The degree I was working on was in business administration, with a concentration in marketing. I had no idea that I would end up spending my entire career in leadership, along with serving in leadership in the church for nearly 27 years now. But God had a plan. Continue reading


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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • The Blessings of Difficult Bosses, Coworkers, Employees, and Customers. Russ Gehrlein writes “My main ideas are these: the difficult people we must work for and with are going to be the ones God uses to develop perseverance, teach us valuable lessons, and are the ones who need what we have to offer: our time, talents, and unconditional love.”
  • 4 Ways Pastors Can Help Women Think About Work. Courtney Moore shares four theological concepts pastors can teach that will help women think about their work.
  • Integrity. On this episode of the Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast, Stanley discusses how to build integrity and the importance of maintaining it.
  • God Works in Sales & Advertising, Too. Stevan Becker writes “God is intimately involved in our work. He cares about the details. He’s doing his work through the work of our hands—even in the “secular” sales and advertising space.”

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Leaders, Do Your Team Members Know How Much You Care?

One of my favorite John Maxwell quotes (though he certainly wasn’t the first to say it) is “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I love the quote and have repeated it often to those I mentor over the years. This statement is true in many walks of life, as a friend, pastor, mentor, politician, etc. In this article, I want to look at what this means between a leader and their team members. Teams generally aren’t going to be impressed with a leader’s prior experience, results, reputation and advanced degrees until they are convinced that the leader cares about them as an individual. What are some ways that a leader shows their followers that they care about them? Here are 4 ways: Continue reading


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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

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• More links to interesting articles
• The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
• Faith and Work Book Review ~ A Good Return: Biblical Principles for Work, Wealth and Wisdom by John C. Lennox
• Quotes from the book Agents of Flourishing: Pursuing Shalom in Every Corner of Society by Amy Sherman. Continue reading


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Does God Value Your Work as Much as Those in “Full-Time Christian Work”?


Do you feel that the only work that really has value in God’s eyes is “full-time Christian work”, such as serving in the ministry as a pastor, or as a missionary? Do you feel that there is both “secular” and “sacred” or “religious” work, and that secular work is a necessary evil, just to pay the bills, support your family and church, but having no real value in God’s eyes? This “secular vs. sacred” view of work is a false one, though many people, if not most, believe it to be true. Hugh Whelchel, in his book How Then Should We Work, states that “Scripture teaches no separation between the secular and the sacred. No church-related work or mission is more spiritual than any other profession such as law, business, education, journalism, or politics”, or I would add any white or blue collar work, volunteering as a retiree, or being a stay-at-home Mom. God values our work, as long as we are doing work that is pleasing to Him. Continue reading